
Four Lakers Drafted into NLL
On September 6, four members of the Peterborough Century 21 Lakers were drafted into the National Lacrosse League.
Braedon Saris, Ben Trumble, Adam Thistlethwaite and Owen Hiltz all heard their name called during the six-round draft, held virtually with the first round broadcasted on NLL+.
Hiltz led the pack with his third overall selection to the Toronto Rock. The Colorado Mammoth drafted Saris at number five, the Georgia Swarm took Trumble at number seven, and Thistlethwaite went in the second round at 24th overall to the Rochester Knighthawks.
Saris was acquired from Cobourg this summer and made a huge impact on the offense, showing a knack for scoring power play goals.
“Braedon just got better and better every time he stepped on the floor and I think he looked more confident every time he stepped on the floor with us,” said Lakers head coach Mike Hasen. “When he came in here this year he might have been a little bit in awe of the group he was playing with, but he took over and led us through that playoff stretch, doing great things.”
Trumble and Thistlethwaite, both young defenders with the ability to play up front when needed, are graduates of the Jr. A Lakers program. Trumble joins Carter Page and former Laker Jordan MacIntosh on the Swarm, and Thistlethwaite will continue to play for Mike Hasen, who coaches the Knighthawks on a team that features Mitch Ogilvie, Matt Gilray, Turner Evans, Austin Hasen and Brad McCulley.
“I’m just glad to be picked. I’m really excited for this opportunity; I think it’ll be a good one,” said Trumble. “I’m starting to reach out to the guys on the [Swarm]. I can’t wait to get going.”
Said Hasen on Trumble, "Benny is going to be a special player. He has a lot of tools in the toolbox. Big body, very athletic, very strong and very smart."
And on Thistlethwaite: "T is a bit of a unicorn. He’s so athletic and if you give him a task he’ll make sure he gets it done. There’s not too many guys that can handle Dhane and we threw T-Waite at Dhane, specially the last two games, hat was his lone goal was to make sure that Dhane was denied as much as possible and he did a great job with that."
Hiltz spent the 2025 season with the PLL’s Carolina Chaos instead of playing box lacrosse in the MSL, but in his rookie season with the Lakers in 2024 he scored 57 points in 24 games.
Two current Jr. A Lakers were also drafted, with OJLL Goalie of the Year Waukiigan Shognosh taken 14th overall by the Buffalo Bandits, and forward Curtis Ward was picked in the fifth round, 62nd overall by the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
Former Lakers Payton Tasse (5th round, Halifax) and Cole Begley (4th round, Ottawa) were also drafted.
NLL Faceoff Weekend is scheduled for November 28th & 29th.















